Pocket Monsters: The Journey's End
by Kent Frost
Summary: It has been years sicne Ash left Pallet Town to be a trainer. Finally, he has returned to his quaint home town. Returned to a nightmare of change.


**Pocket Monsters: The Journey's End**

"This, my friends, is the first Champion of the World!" boomed the announcer excitedly over the roaring crowd. "Born in 2005, his humble journey began in Japan in the year 2015, when he placed sixteenth in the Indigo Plateau. He continued and placed eighth in Johto as well as second in Hoenn."

"After five years in Japan, he won the Japanese Cup, and continued on to mainland Asia. He traveled through Korea, placing second in the Korean Cup. He conquered the Cup of China. He followed up by winning the Asia Federation Cup. "

"His journey continued as he traveled Australia and Canada the following year, of which he place third and first, respectively. In spring of 2022, he started his American journey. He began in the west and traveled eastward, crisscrossing the great nation. He went from California to Montana, from Colorado to Texas. He traveled on from Louisiana to Illinois and down to the Carolinas. Finally, he ended his American journey in the fall of 2025 when he was crowned American Cup Champion. "

"In spring of 2026, he came to Europe. He began in Portugal and Spain, placing first in both National Cups. He continued on to Italy and Greece, placing fourth and second. He traversed the Swiss Alps in the summer of 2028, and was crowned the German Champion a year later. He was crowned Scandinavian Cup Champion in summer of 2030, and the next year he traveled Britain. He was crowned English Champion last fall."

"Now, on May 31st, in this spring of 2032, I give you Champion of Asia, of America and Scandinavia. I give you the winner of the Portuguese and Spanish Cups, of the British Cup, Germanic Cup. I give you, the first World Champion, Ash Andrew Ketchum of Pallet City in the Japanese District of Kanto!"

Ash smiled as he stood on a large podium over a roaring crowd. He had done it! As he was handed a gold cup the size of a Machop, he grinned in disbelief. If only Gary Oak could see him now!

Ash was content as he sat calmly in a private jet. He was coming home. Home to Pallet Town, where he had grown up as a humble boy. Where he had grown up being told his father was a pokemon master as he had become. He still didn't know who his father was, but Ash believed he was out there.

Ash was much rougher than he had been when he had left Palette for the first time all so long ago. He was twenty-seven now. His journey had been seventeen years long. Ash smiled. All the pokemon he had met, caught, befriended, and raised. They had become too numerous to count. He still had his Pikachu, though now it was a Raichu, and the whole world would have agreed that he was the most powerful pokemon, excluding the legendaries, that there was.

Ash looked back on his journey. He had traveled around the globe. Most of the time, at least through Asia, it had been with May Petalburg, the girl he had met in Hoenn, and Brock Pewter, the closest thing he had ever had to a father.

He had traveled with May until he had left Asia to go onto America. For the rest of his journey he had some new trainer tagging along with him almost all the time. In those days, he remembered yearning for someone he still knew. May. The name rang through his head every night. He yearned to see her face again. Misty. He dreamed about her every night as well. He yearned for both of them. Just one of them would have been okay. But, he had no one. He was all alone, though thousands of people knew his name.

He remembered England. He remembered the magical feeling it gave him every time he earned another badge. He remembered the feeling he had when kissing that one hot English girl. Though he hated what he had done now, he had loved it then.

Finally, as he sat on the ride home, he remembered what it had felt like to fight each battle in the World Cup. He was followed. The press was like his shadow. He couldn't be alone. Ever. He loved it. But now, that was all done. He would finally return to the peaceful life in the small town of Pallet. He would take a break. He would just chill. He would wait until the whole world was watching him, then he would do something. He didn't know what yet, he would do something, though.

He slept. He rested. It seemed like he hadn't slept for years. Finally, the plane landed in Pallet City. He was home.

He lay calmly in bed, the late morning sunlight radiating through the curtains of his room. He curled up and covered his face with his blankets, blocking out the sun and going back to sleep. By noon, he could sleep no longer.

Ash drowsily got out of bed. He was met by May, Misty, Max, and Brock.

"Listen, Ash," said Misty calmly.

"No, Ash, listen to me!" May said, shoving Misty behind her.

"Quit it, you idiot!" Misty said. She swore at May fiercely.

May frowned in distaste. "Why you, you, you…!"

"Misty, May, shutup!" said Brock as if he had been saying it for the last ten years. In fact, he had probably had been. Ever since May had returned to Petalburg, and eventually settled down in Pallet Town, Misty and May had been like two blood enemies. Every day they quarreled over who Ash really loved. Every day they ended up scratched and bruised. Their pokemon fared the same.

"Listen," Ash said groggily. "Where's Mom?"

"Ash, listen to me," Brock said cautiously.

"Where is she?" Ash asked again.

"Ash, she's. She's. She's gone, Ash."

"What!" Ash said in fear. "What happened?"

"Ash, it was a freak accident. Your mom and Professor Oak went on this great honeymoon. They got married, you know."

"What!" Ash asked in fury.

"Yes. They got married. So they were going to go on this new space hotel thing. They were going to be the first ones on and everything. And then. And then, it happened."

"What happened," Ash asked calmly, fighting back tears.

"Well, the shuttle to the hotel was to be launched at the Mossdeep Spaceport. And then, well. Team Rocket was still in business back then, and all. And they, they blew up the spaceport right before your mom and father…"

"Wait, Professor Oak is my father?"

"Yes," Brock replied. "You see. It's a long story. And I don't think you want to hear it. Anyway, they died. And now, Gary is the professor. Your mom thought that you would win the World Cup. And you did. But, but she wasn't there to see it…" Brock and Ash burst into tears.

Ash Ketchum spent the next few days in a fog. He slowly drifted from bed to kitchen to TV to kitchen to TV to supper to bed. That was about how it went. And after there were no more tears to shed, and no more tissues to use, Ash stopped. Finally the death of his mother was setting in. Now, he needed a diversion. He needed one. And he got May.

After Ash's week of mourning, the town of Pallet finally celebrated Ash's World Cup victory. That night there would be fireworks. That night, there would be happiness; happiness for all that is, except for Ash. That was, until the fireworks started.

One by one the fireworks boomed across the pitch black sky. They each exploded into a flower of rainbow color. Some were shaped as circles, while others were depictures of pokemon. The booms and crackles echoed across the sky, fading out as they reached the horizon. The multi-color lights gave even Ash a smile, though it was a weak one. The last firework was a large yellow Pikachu face.

Then, it was over. The clouds of dark gray smoke slowly dissolved. The sky was a tapestry of glowing stars. And as the audience clapped in amazement, the ohs and ahs slowly quieted down. Soon, the whole place was empty. Except for Ash. Except for May.

All that night, Ash had been silent. His mother's death still hadn't fully been accepted. As Ash leaned back, May sat next to him.

"Oh, poor Ash. I know it's hard," she whispered softly. "I know how long it took for you to get this far. I knew you could do it. I believed in you." She began to cry. "And I, I love you." The words rang through Ash's head. He knew what to say.

"May. I love you too." Ash stood up. May did as well.

"Listen," Ash said. "All that time I was journeying without you, all that time, I wanted you to be with me. Every time I saw someone nearly as beautiful as you were, my mind bolted to you."

Ash looked at May warmly. The horizons were alive with hope. Ash would get through this. They would get through this.

Together.


End file.
